£53 a week? No way, say voters

70% of the country says they could not live on £53 a week - but rich people are more likely than poor people to think they could

Iain Duncan Smith landed himself in hot water earlier this week for saying, “if I had to, I would” to the proposition of living on £53 a week, the amount a market trader told the BBC he was left with after government housing and benefit cuts.

Mr Duncan Smith is in the minority: YouGov today reveals that less than a quarter of Britons agree that they could live on £53 a week.

Conservative voters are more than twice as likely (38%) to say they could do it if they had to than Labour voters (15%).

Looking at different income groups, the poorest individuals on household incomes of under £20,000 are least likely to think it would be possible to live on £53 a week, and the income bracket most likely to think it possible are those furthest away at £70,000+ household income.